back to riding

Gaps in posts due to much activity, no time to write. Back in training, conditioning. Trailered Butch out to a remote RV park in the desert mountains to ride with new friends on Tuesday. He was great under saddle but no manners on the ground. Embarassing. New friend Grady gave me some training tips. All the same, I was so pleased with how Butchmule handled the trailering, new environment and strange equines.

Thursday worked him in the round pen... he was not happy, it got ugly. I had planned to hobble train him. Got out the hobbles, one-leg-up. He did really well. I think he might have worn them before. By the end he was hanging his head over the rails, nickering at me to come get him. Next day we had a good ride in the riverbed.

Yesterday, had arranged the day off to go out of town for leather show. Trip got cancelled, snowbird friends from CO had invited me on a big group ride about 40 miles from here, in an area of rolling grass hills on the old Empire Ranch. We rode about 5 hours. Butch was so much better behaved! I discovered only one hole in his training... he still has issues going downhill, especially around other equines. I think it might be partly his saddle. We were in the old Abetta. He got worse as the ride wore on, to the point of pitching a full-blown bucking fit at the bottom of a steep incline, which would make sense if the saddle were rubbing his withers more and more. I checked last night and today - thankfully, no sores or swelling.

Other than that, he handled himself so well it was commented on by several riders. I rode with this group a year ago. Butch was still very green and so was I. More than once yesterday, Butch was paid the compliment "He's like a whole different mule." We dealt with runaways galloping by, wading through a herd of cattle, having someone crash into us on an unruly out-of-control horse not once but twice (same horse!), splitting off from the main group and rejoining them without fuss, etc. Butch had his young moments and minor rodeos but for the most part was amazingly calm, trusting and steady. I am so proud of him! I am happy he has come such a long way.